Daedric Forces of Madness

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It cannot be determined when exactly the Forces of Madness came into being. Sheogorath himself was not a product of the original creation of the Daedra. He was, in fact, the alter-ego of Jyggalag, the Prince of Order, who was cursed with Madness by the other Daedric Princes. When Jyggalag became Sheogorath, and the latter began reforming the Realm of Order into that of Madness, it can be reasonably assumed that the Forces of Madness came into being. Whether they existed previously and came into the Madgod's service, or were created personally by Sheogorath, is unknown. Nevertheless, the two species of humanoid Daedra, Golden Saints and Dark Seducers, became the new soldiers of Sheogorath's army, tasked with the defense of the Shivering Isles.

The most notable act of defense the Forces of Madness performed over the eras was certainly during each Greymarch when, due to the nature of his curse, Sheogorath would transform back into Jyggalag and attempt to re-conquer his Realm with the Forces of Order. The response to this attack would come from the Forces of Madness, but it was to no avail. Each time, with every millennium that passed, the Saints and Seducers would be defeated by the Knights of Order and Jyggalag would lay waste to the Realm. Then the curse would be renewed, and Sheogorath would be left to rebuild the Isles, as well as his army.

This cycle would continue indefinitely until the Fourth Era of Tamriel, when Sheogorath enacted a plan to end the cycle of the Greymarch. By ensuring the Throne of Madness was occupied when Jyggalag came, there was a chance that he would be defeated by the new Madgod. For his successor, Sheogorath chose not one of his own servants, but a mortal, none other than the Hero of Kvatch, who had previously defeated Mehrunes Dagon's Forces of Destruction in the Oblivion Crisis.

The Fourth Era Greymarch truly began when Order launched an offensive on the Fringe of Madness, the entry point of the Shivering Isles. The Madness army was quick to respond, initiating the battle; based in the town of Passwall, Madness fought to hold the line against the Knights of Order until the Hero arrived under Sheogorath's command and led Madness to victory. Madness would continue to hold the Fringe for the rest of the Greymarch.

Order's answer to this defeat was a covert assault on one of the strongholds of Madness, either Brellach or Pinnacle Rock. This attack too would be overcome by the Hero. Had Order succeeded in taking the stronghold, it would have meant the end of either the Golden Saints or Dark Seducers. Following an attempt at poisoning the Wellspring of Madness itself, Order made its last attack. The Forces of Madness met those of Order in the Battle of New Sheoth; here the Hero, now the new Madgod, succeeded in defeating Jyggalag and freeing him from the curse, bringing the Greymarch cycle to an end. From that time onward, the Forces of Madness served the new Madgod, the Hero of Kvatch.

The soldiers of the Daedric Forces of Madness were two similar yet distinctly different forms of humanoid Daedra, the Golden Saints and Dark Seducers.

The Golden Saints—or Aureals, as they called themselves—guarded the land of Mania. They were based in Brellach, a fortress set on a peninsula called Saint's Watch. During the Fourth Era Greymarch, they were led by a Saint named Staada. The Dark Seducers, or Mazken, were affiliated with Dementia. They were based in Pinnacle Rock, which sat on the Madgod's Boot peninsula. During the Fourth Era Greymarch, they were led by Dylora.

Despite both groups being defenders of the Isles, neither was fond of the other, and they were constantly clashing in a bid for Sheogorath's favor. Certainly the greatest of these clashes was the conflict over Cylarne; that, too, was ended by the Hero during the Battle of Cylarne.

While both factions of the Madness army will be encountered during gameplay, which one is encountered the most will depend on choices made by the player concerning allegiance to either Mania or Dementia.